There comes a time in every business when what has been working well is no longer enough. In fact, if you your business is changing…growing…evolving, it’s pretty much a given that you are constantly on the lookout for new and innovative ways to keep it alive and thriving.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. It can seem a little scary, and even risky, to try something you’ve never tried before; but it can be exciting and fun too. I’m not advocating acting irrationally. On the contrary, think it through–consider the pros and cons–try to imagine the worst case and best case scenario. The worst case scenario should be something you can live with if it comes to that. But, don’t be afraid to venture out and experiment.

Start small if that feels more comfortable. There is still the risk it might not work, but at least if it fails, it will be a smaller setback, and a lesson learned. The important thing is, try something! If you sit back and do nothing to affect change, guess what’s likely to happen–NOTHING!

It’s funny how life constantly throws curve balls. Just when I think things are going along smoothly, something happens to rough the waters. What’s even more interesting is observing how those curve balls help me to develop and grow.

I’ve recently gone through a downsizing of my business; not by design, but by a variety of circumstances all culminating at once. As a result, I find myself looking for another form of supplemental income, (i.e., J-O-B.) I see it as both a curse and a blessing—a curse because of the drop in income, but a blessing because I was so overwhelmed with work that I had lost touch with “me.” I hardly had time to catch my breath. Being busy all the time can be exhilarating, but also tiresome without even realizing it!

As a result, having more free time on my hands, I’ve been spending more time helping out in the Red Cross office. It gives me something to do that is not only constructive, but makes me feel good. Now that the weather is warming up (finally—hallelujah!!) I’ve even been getting out and walking by the river more; something I used to do a lot more of.

I am a believer that the Universe has a plan for me—something in store that it has seen fit to free up my time for. While I wait and watch for it to materialize, at least I’ve found something to do with my down time that I enjoy.

What do you do with your down time? Whatever it is, make it enjoyable!

How do you cope with stress? Perhaps you meditate, or take a walk, or write. Maybe you just sort of veg out, or combination of any of these. Whatever it is you do, do more of it. Every aspect of your life will improve if you do, including your business.

Life is short enough as it is. Allowing stress to take hold of your life will just shorten it that much more. Trust me, it’s not worth it. We’ve all seen or known people who have had strokes, heart attacks, ulcers, etc. due to stress in their lives. We think to ourselves how lucky we are to be above that; but the truth is, we’re not above it. It sneaks up on us, and before you know it, blam! And then you think to yourself, “Oh my gosh! How could this have happened to me?”

Are you trying to succeed in business, or another area of your life? Do you realize that if you get rid of the stress in your life, your mind will be free to accomplish anything you want without any inhibitions? It’s true! Stress interferes with every aspect of your life; your health, your relationships (including your relationship with yourself), your business and everything else.

So, whatever it is you do to cope with stress, please do yourself a favor and do more of it. You will thank yourself for it in the end.

It has been is an incredibly cold and snowy winter so far! Even though I live on a mountain near a ski resort, winter is not my season. Therefore, it’s a good time for me to stay in and get things organized.

I’ve gone through my file drawers, cabinets and storage closets. I’ve shredded, thrown out, arranged and rearranged. I still have some things to get put into notebooks, as well as some bookkeeping to bring up to date. Once that is done, I’ll be in pretty good shape.

It will feel so good start out the new year with things in order. I hope you’ll take the time to do the same; I think you’ll find that you’ll be more productive if you do.

What a perfect opportunity to…well…get caught up on your accounting, or do some computer maintenance, or work on your businiess plan for next year. I’m sure there are any number of things that get put on the back burner throughout the year that could get taken care of through this “down” time.

You certainly deserve a breather. After all, you’ve put your  heart and soul into your business all year long. But, wouldn’t it feel good to be getting some things accomplished while you’ve got a little free time? Take your leisure time about it; you should be able to enjoy some of the quiet time and still get something done. The trick is pacing yourself.

Hey–I have an idea: What if we took a little down time every month to get those little nagging things done. Maybe every friday, or the last 2 days of the month…Now there’s an idea! Or, better yet, hire help!

Do you have balance in your business? What doea that mean? To explain that, I’d like to put it in a slightly different context. In order to have balance in your business, you need to have balance in your life.

We’re all hearing more and more about mind, body, spirit balance. If you meditate regularly, you know what this means. You realize how it all comes together. For example, when you are out of balance your body reacts to stress and tension, your mind is cluttered with so many thoughts you can’t begin to sort them all out. You’re having headaches, back pain, or possibly more serious health conditions. You’ve totally lost touch with your Higher Power. Getting back to daily meditation can right all of these things in a short amount of time, almost instantly sometimes.

It’s the same with your business. To be the most productive, you need to  balance all the parts of your business. Perhaps you’re the best with customer service. Your customers all love you and enjoy interacting with you, but your finances are in trouble because you haven’t paid attention to them. Or you don’t have new products to sell because you’re focus has been on customer service.

What I’ve found to be true in my own life is that when I am balanced personally, in mind, body and spirit, it makes it much easier to balance other areas of my life. It all starts with ME.

If you are well balanced personally, and continue to exercise control over that, but still can’t get a handle on all the parts of your business, that’s not all bad. It probably means that business is booming, and maybe you need someone to help you manage it all. That’s where people like myself, and Online Business Manager (OBM), or a Virtual Assistant (VA) or two can help you get and keep it under control. Anyone in an OBM role will also help you brainstorm ways to work more efficiently, effectively and productively.

Most importantly, get your personal selff balanced. Everything else hinges on that. Then, decide what your next steps should be.

One thing I know for certain is that in order to be successful in business, you must be flexible. You need to be open to new ways of doing things as change occurs. Or even as it becomes apparent that what you are currently doing is not working.

Here is a perfect example of my own. For years—well, really all of my adult life, I’ve been a morning person. I get up before the rest of the household and have my wake up time…relax and watch the sunrise with a cup of tea; do my meditation and yoga; have breakfast and shower. Then I’m really ready to begin my day. That is, until recently…

Recently a six-month old puppy came into my life. Her name is Amber. Amber is also a morning doggy. She is up with the crack of dawn. If not then, then as the first sign that I am awake. She demands immediate attention in the way of breakfast, relieving herself and, of course, play. She cannot be left unattended because her middle name is Trouble with a capital “T”.

I can relax with my cup of tea once I get her settled down with her breakfast. Then, it’s outside. I can’t leave her for long because I live on 5 acres with no fencing.  Then the fun begins. She’s constantly looking for something to get into. As a result, I DON’T get my morning meditation & yoga in. This really starts my day off in an “off” way. I rely on these activities for my own mental, emotional and spiritual health, and this has been my routine for years.

For the past several weeks, I’ve just kind of done without, or gotten it when I can. I have finally developed a new routine. I get up and work for that couple of hours in the morning while I can at least keep an eye on Amber. Once someone else is up and can take over doggy duty, I go downstairs to my exercise room and get in my “me” time. It has been an adjustment, but it’s working better than before, when I was floundering trying to keep up with “me.”

Another major benefit I am seeing since I’ve made this change is in my business. I had become rather scattered; forgetting things, missing meetings, not being able to focus on the task at hand. Now I’m back to providing the level of service that is important to me, and I still manage to get in my “me” time. There are other benefits. It gives me time to turn on the space heater and warm up my excercise room. Also, I have difficulty focusing in my meditation because my mind is on everything I  have to do today. Now, I get those most pressing things out of the way first, and get a good mental handle on my day before I go into my meditation. I think I’m liking this new schedule better after all.

As I said, flexibility is the key. It sometimes takes a little creative thinking to adapt, but there are always ways!

When developing your business plan for next year, think about such things as:

• What projects to I want to start or complete?
• What are my due dates?
• What is my budget for each project?
• What is the scope of work for each project?
• What new procedures do I want to implement?
• Should I hire someone to help manage my business?
• What is my budget for hiring help?

Putting together a plan is not an easy process. It takes a considerable amount of thought and planning. But if you take the time, I think you’ll find yourself having a more successful business. If you already have a business manager, brainstorming with them is helpful. Set realistic goals, but ones that will ultimately move your business in a forward direction.

How do you turn a frantic, out-of-control week into a calm, together week before it’s too late to make a difference anyway?

My week started out frantic and behind before it even got going good. Oh, I had a good plan in place for the week. It was going to be a very productive week. Then…

…being the Disaster Coordinator for my local Red Cross chapter, I was called to respond to an apartment fire at about 12:30 Monday morning. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep before spending the better part of the day Monday at the Chapter office dealing with the aftermath of people who were not allowed to return to their apartment. Needless to say, Monday (and subsequently Tuesday) nights were devoted to catching up on much needed sleep.

Now it’s Wednesday. I’ve gotten very little work done this week, and I have to figure out a way to get a handle on my week. What would you do?
Well, here’s what I did—having finally gotten rested, I woke up early and did my usual meditation & yoga for the first time this week. I like this to be my usual morning routine because it starts my day off just right. This was what I needed to regain my focus and get back on track. It’s still early in the day, but I have no doubt that I’ll have everything in order that I need to by the end of the day. The trick is to work smart—efficiently. This is something I’m normally very good at, when I don’t have curve balls thrown at me, like I did this week.

The important lesson here is that—well—life happens! We need to be flexible and open to options for dealing with it when it does. After all, it’s not the end of the world; just a little bump along the journey.

I hope you’re week is going along just perfectly; but if it’s not, take a half-hour meditation break. Trust me, it will make a difference!

1. Have you accomplished what you wanted to this week?
2. What couldd/should you have done better or different?
3. What did you do well?
4. Do you have an action plan for next week?

I find it helpful to assess my work week at the beginning so I have a solid plan, and again at the end to deterrmine how I can work more efficiently and be more productive.

Have a great weekend!!